One very simple solo excercise for gunnery that helped me in the past was this:
Go to TA or offline, and bring up the target at some reasonable range: ".target 300".
Now put one bullet in each corner near where the largest circle is.
Then try to go from corner to corner shooting as close as you can to your previous shot.
Mix up the order that you shoot them, mix up whether you bank to the next one or use rudder, shoot inverted, etc.
This doesn't help you with lead, but it really helps you learn to control your nose very precisely, and to fire EXACTLY where you want to, instead of in the general area.
As to the '38, it's not a very easy bird to fly competitively in the LW MAs. Unless you can exploit it's strengths, it's a downright mediocre performer - and exploiting its strengths requires a really good sense of the state of you and your enemy (which takes a lot longer than months to develop.) Basically, it has the ability to fly very slow and/or at rediculous orientations due to its monster flaps and counter-rotating engines. This is much tougher strength to exploit than say an LA7's combination of speed/accelleration/handling/climb, or a typhoons stupendous firepower and low-alt speed. However, once you get good with the '38, there's no need to run from any 1v1 (except the 163, perhaps). Basically, I'd recommend giving up on it until you get really good in an easier plane, and hone your skills at recognizing the E and angle state of you and your opponent at all times, and get good with combat flap use. It's also a lot more competitive when flown in a basic manner in the MW arena, if you can find a fight there.
